


AU: Flowers

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: AU, Flowers, Fluff, Haruka Nanase - Freeform, M/M, rin matsuoka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-03 00:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4080136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day is so nice and sunny; the city seems so busy and bright. Too bad I feel like I'm dying, no, my soul is slowly wasting away, as everyone around me keeps living their lives...</p>
<p>This is a requested AU, so I didn't come up with the idea, but I did write the story. Thanks to my two friends for editing and this is my first fluff story. (Or at least my first story without them jumping each other's bones.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	AU: Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> If you want a song to listen to while reading this, any happy love song should be good, but the Ouran High School Host Club opening is good too because yeah... Enjoy ^-^

   Cautiously I look around the quiet neighborhood while walking down the practically empty street. It was noon, the time everyone is busy with their lives and around the time I visit my dad's grave. The day was really bright and sunny; it was warm and made me feel refreshed. _Today is a really good day_ , I think to myself as I felt a cool breeze run through the air to ruffle my hair. For a few minutes, I happily stroll through the street, wondering what kind of flowers would be waiting for me today. Yesterday there was some pretty red and pink azalea flowers that freshly bloomed and it made me smile because of how much Gou and mom loved the two I brought home for them.

   Soon, I was approaching the boarding house with the beautiful, and sometimes rare, flowers in the garden. There would be some flowers that were set out on the window still, and all I had to do was take them. In my head, I remembered the first time I took some flowers a few months ago. Since it was Valentine's Day, all the nearby florist shops ran out of flowers so I was a little sad because dad's grave wouldn't have any flowers that day. Until I saw some roses that didn't seem like they were a present outside on a window sill. Out of desperation, I took them and it just kind of happened that I did that the next day I went to visit my dad. Then the day after that. And the day after that. I really do feel bad for taking them without even saying thank you to the person or anything, but it's for a good cause.

   Anyway, the boarding house is for students that go to the same college as me, since Nagisa lives there with some people he went to high school with. I don't have any classes with any of them, except for that one kid Haru. We have the majority of classes together and he's really attractive. Even if I am a guy, I would openly admit he's easy to look at because he's so handsome. _Too bad he's quiet and gets a little weird around water,_ I think while trying to decide which flowers to take. _It's a cute kind of weird though_ , I add in while softly laughing because of the time I saw him staring at the college's pool with an intense gaze.

   There were some pink tulips, light purple irises, and hot pink chrysanthemums in the garden. It might be too girly to put on my dad's grave, but I could save a few for Gou and mom. But then I saw them, the range white to red fresh carnations already in a bouquet. Like a gravitational force, my eyes couldn't focus on anything else but them. _Dad would love them,_ I thought. _Especially if I give some to mom._

   When I finally reach the small fence of the boarding house, my body leans over it while my arm stretches out to get the bouquet on the window still. Once I got it, a big smile appears on my face then I turn around to find Haru with a slightly looking angry face staring at me. My body froze for a few seconds as we just look directly at each other. _Crap!_ I keep screaming in my head as thoughts swirl around. Then out of nowhere my feet moves on their own by running down the street at full speed. "Rin!" I hear Haru yell but I didn't look back while I just keep running towards the rail train station. "Rin!" He keeps shouting as we both run down the street. I run faster until I'm gasping for air and my lungs feel like they were shrinking. _Can't get caught,_ I keep reminding myself while running.

   Haru keeps chasing me for a while until we reach the train station in the outer edges of the city and I couldn't keep running to wait for a rail train to stop. He caught up to me and we both just stand there panting because we need air. After a minute, Haru grabs my right wrist to keep me from running away again then looks at my eyes intensely. I'm left breathless, and not just because of all the running. But because he looks so breathtaking. _Focus! He caught you taking the flowers,_ I remind myself then avert my gaze. "Who's the girl?" Haru asks me with apparent anger in his voice. I look back at him in confusion. "What girl?" I reply lost. He clicks his tongue. "The one you give all the flowers to."

   "Flowers?" I ask dumbly. His eyes looks down at the carnation bouquet in my left hand. My eyes follows his then I realize he thinks that the flowers, all the flowers I've taken, is for a girl. "Uh-um, no. There's no girl," I try to explain to him, but I couldn't tell him it was for my dad. Maybe he would understand, but I still couldn't bring myself to tell him anything. "Okay then," he says but doesn't let go. Then the train I need to go on pulls into the station and I sigh out a breath of relief. _I'm safe,_ I gladly say to myself while shaking off his grip then stepping onto the train. After a minute or so, the train door closes and there's a small crowd of people so I have to stand. But the mass of people starts to press on the bouquet of carnations and I freak out. By the second, the bouquet starts to press more and more onto my left side. _CRAP!_ I yell in my head until the bouquet is taken from behind me. I turn my head around and found Haru with a serious look holding the flowers up above us. "I'll hold them," he says and I just nod my head. "In return though, you have to introduce me to the girl you've been giving all the flowers to," he adds in and I internally groan in annoyance. It's bad enough I get caught, by him of all people too, but now he insists on seeing the 'girl' I'm giving all the flowers too.

   "There is no girl," I tell him but he shakes his head. "You've been taking flowers for months. This girl needs to be really pretty for me to warrant your flower thievery," he solemnly invites himself to join me. "But-" I start to try and explain until he cuts me off. "No buts. I know there is a girl that you've been giving these to and I want to see how pretty she is," he decides then looks away to make sure I can't tell him no. "Okay fine," I huff out a bit then look out the window. The day is so nice and sunny; the city seems so busy and bright. Too bad I feel like I'm dying, no, my soul is slowly wasting away, as everyone around me keeps living their lives. A part of me knows I need to explain to him that the flowers are really for my dead dad, but I still couldn't properly explain it. _Maybe if I drop hints about the situation..._ I think. I just shake my head though, Nagisa says Haru can be dense sometimes. _It's better if I properly tell him,_ I decide. Then I turn to look at him. He's around my height and age as Nagisa says, but he seems more mature. More attractive too. My eyes observe his crystal blue ones, his soft looking skin, and his black silky appearing hair. Haru's looking out the window, and it seems like he's deep in thought. Soon, I'm thinking about him. He doesn't really talk much, only to this kid that seems to be a really close friend to him. Makoto, I think his name is. But he's only in one of our classes, so most of the time in the other classes we share together he's by himself. It's not like he doesn't talk to other people, he just doesn't start the conversation.

   Suddenly, I feel someone push me and I brace myself for impact while trying to hold onto the metal pole. Instead of hitting some people though, an arm gently holds me up and pulls me closer to that person's body. Haru directly looks at me and I hold my breath. Our faces are only an inch or two apart. His breath could be lightly felt on my lips, which were practically perfectly align with his. My eyesight travels up from his lips to directly look into his eyes. "Be careful," he softly warns me. The air from his breath tingles my lips and I lick them. "Sorry," I apologize then try to step away from him but there wasn't any room so we were stuck like that. We were stuck being abnormally so close to each other, so close that we could slightly feel one another's breath, for the rest of the ride.

   But we both look away; Haru looking out the window and me looking towards the crowd of people around us. Awkwardly, we stand there for five-ten minutes trying to avoid looking at each other until the train stops at the station we need to get off at. My heart beat's a little off, just beating a little too fast while making me feel it's hard to breathe. Then my face feels just a little too warm; a little too hot. _Is it because I'm so close to Haru?_ I question myself while trying to take a few quick glances of him during the ride.

   Soon, the train starts to slow down and we enter the station. As the train stops and the doors open, I try to get off along with all the people but they unintentionally push me down again. Again, Haru catches me from falling by wrapping an arm around my waist and helps me keep balance. "Let's go," he calmly says while slightly, and gently, pushing me out towards the station. He also retracts his arm and moves forward. My face grows a little warmer, the spot where he wrapped his arm around me feels warm too, and everything in general is warm. _God,_ I thought, he's attractive but it doesn't mean I like him. I'm sensible enough not to like a person just because of their looks, but for who they are. That doesn't stop me from being attracted to their face though.

   "Rin?" I hear Haru call out to me. It snaps me out of my thoughts to see him already kind of far from me. I walk faster to catch up to him then once I am, we walk side by side out the station. By now, it's been half an hour or so since I got caught taking the flowers and now, the both of us are walking out of the outer edge of the city towards the suburbs. There's only silence between the two of us as we keep walking and it makes me uneasy. As we both kept moving, I'd steal quick little glances of Haru. Then I decide to talk to him to fill the lack of noise.

   "So, what do you like to do?" I ask him trying to get a conversation. He barely looks at me and answers in a monotone voice. "Swim and garden." Silently I wait for him to ask the same question, or at least keep the conversation going, but after another few minutes he doesn't talk. Or even have a sign signaling that he might. "You like to swim? I do too. It's really fun and it's great if you win a race," I say trying to keep this dying attempt alive. For a second Haru stops walking so I have to look back at him since I was a few steps forward. "Winning isn't everything," he comments a little rudely as he starts to walk again and I try to salvage his impression of me. "It isn't. But it's nice if you do," I tell him and he looks over at me then just nods. My shoulders slump a bit and I give up trying to make a conversation.

   The silence re-emerges as we get closer to the cemetery. It'll only take ten minutes to get there, and within those ten minutes I have to explain to him everything. In my head I sigh but chose to do the right thing.

   "So Haru..." I trail off nervously. He makes no attempt to let me know if he heard me or not, so I look over at him. I notice he's staring intensely at the bouquet of carnation and there's this special gleam in his eyes; a special look of joy. A smile spread across my face since he reminds me of a little kid right now. "Those flowers are really beautiful," I comment out loud by accident. Instead of getting silence, Haru happily hums a noise of agreement. "Thank you," he says as he keeps looking at them while he gently touches some of the petals. "They took a lot of hard work and effort to grow, but it's worth it considering how amazing they grew to be," he adds in. His extra comment catches me by surprise and I'm a little speechless.

   "You grew them yourself?" I ask him and he looks up for a second to nod at me. "Yeah," he answers in a proud voice. "That's really cool of you," I tell him while laughing a bit at how cute he sounds when he's happy. Haru doesn't answer and for a minute I wonder if I somehow accidentally offend him. "Don't you think it's weird that a guy likes to grow flowers?" he asks and I just shake my head. "No, why would I?" I reply back and a little confused as we pass by a small cafe where a few friends of mine work in. "Other people say it's weird that I really like flowers," he tells me in a small voice. "I don't see the problem. If you like what you like, you should be proud of it. Especially if it holds a special meaning to you. Nobody needs to understand or even approve of it but yourself. As long as you're happy, there's no problem," I say while venting out some hidden anger. For all those times people teased about always visiting my dad and the times where they told me I'd die swimming, even if they were joking, I'd always feel bad after they say it.

   I turn to look at Haru and see his reaction to that. He's smiles at me with this new look in his eyes; it's warm and nice just like the weather today. "You're right," he says in a soothing voice, but I feel my heart lurch forward. _What?_ I ask myself as it keeps beating fast. _You can't be like this, especially because of someone you just officially met,_ I tell my heart even though I know it's useless. But even after a minute it doesn't stop beating this fast. It just intensifies as my conversation with Haru does too. Soon we're talking about almost everything about ourselves. Everything we like, school, swimming, and more. As we talk I try not to fumble with my words, or trip over my feet; I couldn't help it. Haru makes me nervous, but I won't say I'm in love with him. With each second that passes by though, we walk closer to the cemetery and I slowly start to forget that I have to tell him the truth.

   After a few more minutes, our laughter subsides because of a funny story, and we get closer to the cemetery. Being with Haru feels natural, like somewhere in another life we are really close to one another. Then I turn around to face him again to find him looking at the flowers again. "My late grandma loved to grow flowers when she was alive," he says out of nowhere. "She told me that it's a nice a hobby, especially since flowers are so pretty."

   "I was really close to her, so when she died I adopted her hobby of growing flowers. The first one was a small houseplant that my parents gave me to 'cope with the lost' in a way, but then it grew out of its pot so we just planted it outside. Then they got me another one for inside my room that grew like the first one. It became a cycle like that; I'd get a small plant then it would grow so then we'd have to plant it outside. Slowly I started to take care of more and more plants until our house had growing plants surrounding it as a garden because of me," he explains with a chuckle then stretches his arms before he begun again. "Instead of letting my parents deal with them, or letting them die, I took care of them. So when I went to college, the boarding house I live in had no garden I could take care of it. I couldn't just get another houseplant since I knew that wasn't enough. The landlady told me it's okay for me to have a garden at the house so instead of the regular house plants I have at my house, I grow really pretty flowers that my grandma grew." Haru looks around the area then smiles at me. "At first it was a few sunflowers, then it grew to tulips, irises, lilies, and more. Grandma would've loved the variety and vibrant closers. It's girly in a way, but she told me people like flowers. Especially pretty girls," he finishes. "So I can't wait to meet the really pretty girl you steal flowers for," he says and my heart stops beating as my stomach gets queasy. He still thinks that there's a girl.

   I didn't want to lie to him with an excuse, or do anything stupid to prolong telling him. Plus we were already at the entrance of the cemetery. My feet stops moving before we enter and Haru stops beside me too. His confusion is apparent, but he says nothing as we start to move towards the middle of the the cemetery. Neither us talks, mostly because he doesn't want to seem rude by asking and I don't want to explain anything until we get there. For a few minutes we both walk a little more until we reach my dad's grave. The azalea flowers from yesterday were wilting so I take them away and motion for Haru to give me the fresh carnations. He hands them to me, so carefully I take one pink and one white flower away for mom and Gou then set them aside next to me as I sit down and pray to dad. _I'm sorry I gave you stolen flowers for the last few months,_ I start to pray to him with my eyes close and hands together.

   When I was done praying, Haru just looks at me and I shrug sheepishly then bow down in front of him. "I'm sorry for taking all your flowers the past few months. They weren't for a girl, they are for my dead dad that I visit at least three to four times a week. My mother wants there to always be flowers at his grave so that's why I took the flowers. I won't take anymore from you I swear, please forgive me," I explain and apologize to him while still vowing and facing the ground. He doesn't say anything for a minute.

   "Lift up your head," he says and I do. His expression was unreadable but I'm left speechless and in shock when he sits down in front of my dad's gave. Haru takes one vibrant red carnation from the bouquet then sets it down next to him. Then he starts to pray and after a minute, he gets up to face me. "I forgive you," he says then smiles as he tucks the flower's stem behind my ear. The flower rests on the space between and flower and ear while I try to say or do something. "What-?" I start to ask him. "I'm just paying my respects to the dead," he answers then looks up at the sky. My eyes look up too then notices how the sky is a light gray and it seems like it will rain. "Those flowers that you take are for my grandma's grave that's in nearby," he says as we both look at each other then leads me to where she is.

   We stop at a clean grave a minute away that has a matching carnation bouquet to my dad's. "I went earlier today to drop these off so that's why the flowers you took today were in a bouquet," he explains. "Oh, I'm sorry-" I start to apologize again but Haru shakes his head. "It's fine, because now we'll be visiting together to give both of them flowers. If that's okay with you," he tells me with question in his eyes. But I just smile and I feel a lot lighter; a lot better now, since he forgives me. "Okay, I'd like that," I answer to him while smiling peacefully. He smiles back and then it starts to lightly rain. Even if we were getting wet, we just take our time walking back because right now, neither of us feels like rushing. "Hey Haru," I start to say. "Yeah?" He replies as the rain starts to pour harder but we still just walk to the station. "Thank you for understanding," I answer and feel him hold my hand. Warmth spreads throughout my body and we continue smile at each other happily. "I can't wait to visit them tomorrow," he says and I laugh. "Same here," I agree with a new feeling in my heart; a new peaceful feeling only Haru can make me feel.


End file.
